Dødsfallet kom plutselig.

The death came suddenly.

Breakdown of Dødsfallet kom plutselig.

• komme: to come
• plutselig: suddenly
• dødsfallet: the death

Questions & Answers about Dødsfallet kom plutselig.

Why is dødsfallet written as one word?

Because Norwegian very often forms compounds as a single word.

Dødsfallet is built from:

• død = death
• linking -s-
• fall = fall

So dødsfall is the noun meaning death, often in the sense of a specific death or death case. Then -et is added to make it definite.

This is very normal in Norwegian. Where English may use two words, Norwegian often uses one compound word.

Why does dødsfallet end in -et?

The ending -et is the definite singular ending for a neuter noun.

The basic noun is:

• et dødsfall = a death

The definite form is:

• dødsfallet = the death

So Norwegian usually does not need a separate word for the here. It gets attached to the noun instead.

What is the difference between dødsfall and døden?

They are related, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

• dødsfall usually means a death, a death case, or a specific instance of someone dying
• døden usually means death in a broader, more abstract sense, or sometimes death as a state or personified idea

So dødsfallet kom plutselig refers to a particular death event.
If you used døden, the sentence would feel different in tone and meaning.